Love Song
by Aspect1
Summary: Music is a connection but for those at the Teikou Conservatory of Music, it is more than that. Music to them is a bond that links them to the people they love and the music that defines them and their life. Music!AU
1. Just the Beginning

**A/N: My first KuroBasu fic! This chapter might seem a bit too draggy unfortunately. By the way, this will mainly be slice-of-life with more focus on the relationships that form. **

**Warnings: Some OOC, some fluff, a bit of angst.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke~**

* * *

**_Kagami _**l _**Kuroko**_

Dark blue eyes stared at the white ceiling. The ceiling fan was rotating slowly, barely creating a draft of wind. After a few more minutes of watching the fan turn, Kuroko sat up. He removed the covers and stood up, sliding his feet into a pair of blue, fluffy slippers he received from Kagami last Christmas. After glancing at the time, he shuffled all the way to Kagami's room.

The two of them shared an apartment, Kagami figuring it would be easier that way if they wanted to practice with each other outside of school. The two of them had gotten each other as partners during the draw. The Teikou Conservatory of Music had a system that was called the buddy-buddy system. It functioned such that everyone had a partner who was in the same year as them. The partner could play a different instrument from the other. The main basis behind this system was to foster a bond between the partners and to let one another have a better understanding of another instrument provided said instrument was different.

The apartment they shared was rather small, having only three rooms, two being their own rooms and the last one managing to hold a piano in it. Though neither of them majored in piano, Kuroko still got the piano (as a gift). The only explanation -if it could be even called that- Akashi offered was that Kuroko and Kagami best create music with the piano and trumpet if they knew what was best for them.

Kuroko peered into the middle room, the one between his own and Kagami's room, to see if the redhead was in there. It was empty and the curtain was still drawn, leaving the entire room in darkness. The fair skinned boy walked inside and threw the curtains apart. Sunlight flooded the room. Satisfied, he walked out and entered Kagami's room.

Walking into his partner's room was like walking into a tiger's den. Kagami was actually rather neat when it came to housekeeping but his room was a different matter altogether. Books were strewn haphazardly all over on his table and a stand stood at the foot of his bed, an open book left lying on it. It was obvious which pieces he had chosen to play by the sight of coloured post-it notes sticking out of the book.

With a sigh, Kuroko closed the open books though left the one lying on the stand alone. He packed all of them except those that were marked with the post-it notes. Those, he held them in his right hand then walked over to the sleeping boy.

"Kagami-kun," he called.

"Nnn...?" Kagami mumbled, turning onto his back, already opened mouth opening even bigger.

Kuroko's heart thudded a little when he looked at his lips. An immense blush worked its way to his cheeks but he pushed it down. Sometimes, he wondered if Kagami even knew of his feelings for him. The signals Kuroko often got from Kagami were very confusing. One moment, it would say that he felt a semblance of love for him and the next, it was platonic.

"It's nine. You have class at nine thirty right?"

It was silence for a few short moments and then, "Oh shit!"

Kagami flew up and tossed his blanket off him. Kuroko stepped to one side and the former blew past him, rushing to the toilet to wash up. Meanwhile, Kuroko helped him pack his items. Right when he was about to put the three books he held into the sling bag, Kagami came rushing back in with a piece of bread sticking out of his mouth. He yanked it out of his mouth with his left hand as his other hand grabbed the bag from Kuroko.

"I'm going now! ...and thanks."

"The conservatory is only a ten minute walk away though."

"I have something else to do before that. I'll see you during our practice together later!" and with that, Kagami rushed out once again, door slamming shut in his wake.

Kuroko stared at the once occupied spot. The apartment felt awfully empty suddenly. He bit his lower lip and clenched his fists before walking out of the room. What happened to having breakfast with each other everyday? He knew that it was inane to feel this affected by a single disruption of a daily routine. It was Kagami though. And Kagami never had anything on before he went for classes. Certain times of the day were reserved solely for Kuroko and the morning when he woke up happened to be one of those times. Still though, Kuroko knew that Kagami must had something very urgent to attend to for him to just...brush him off like that.

With a weary sigh, the blue haired boy headed to the kitchen to have his breakfast. He blamed his current feelings on what he felt for the tiger. The two had met only last September(1) (Teikou always operated on a rather unique basis) when the school term first started. And now, it was already January. Five months and Kuroko found that he had fallen for the hotheaded boy. Perhaps it was only a crush right now but who knew what it might turn out to be later on?

Thoughts churning in his head, Kuroko was about to start making his breakfast when his phone let out a loud 'ping'. His brows furrowed for only a fraction. Who would text him this early?

He walked back to his room and checked his phone.

**From: Akashi**

**Subject: Breakfast**

**_Tetsuya, would you like to have breakfast with me and Atsushi? You can decide the place. _**

That was odd. It sounded as if Akashi was genuinely requesting and not making a demand. The fact did stand that Akashi treated Kuroko very differently though.

**To: Akashi**

**Re: Breakfast**

**_I would like to. Perhaps the cafe near my place?_**

The message came back an instant later. During the brief period of waiting, Kuroko wondered if he was missing something.

**From: Akashi**

**Re: Breakfast**

**_All right. Feel free to bring the scores for tonight's performance if you need to ask me any questions._**

Kuroko's lips twitched up a little at that. It was as if Akashi read his mind. He did want to ask some questions particularly on some of the phrasing and transitions he wasn't too sure about. He checked the date then and his eyes widened. Of course! How could he forget? A part of him wished he did not check though, the slight confusion caused by Kagami leaving suddenly now turned into hurt.

Kuroko ran a hand through his hair, worsening his bed head then changed. He would find out everything later, he decided. Eventually, Kagami would tell him. On his way, he grabbed several music scores that he was assigned by his instructor and placed them in his bag. He took his violin as well then left.

* * *

Kagami let out a groan as he entered a music room. He shut the door then leaned back against it.

"Oi, careful with your trumpet!"

Kagami jumped at that admonishment and very nearly ended up slamming his trumpet bag into the door.

"Then don't shock me like that!" he protested weakly as he trudged to a piano bench and sat there. "Why are we even meeting here in the first place anyway? This is a room for _pianos_."

"I have a session with Riko at nine thirty and anyways, she wants to help with tonight as well."

Kagami grimaced at the thought of meeting Kuroko again. He regretted being so cold towards the boy but he really didn't want him to suspect that anything was up. Unbeknownst to the redhead, he had voiced his regret.

"You idiot!" a book hit Kagami's head. "Why didn't you wake up earlier in the first place?!"

"Ow!" Kagami exclaimed as he shot a glare at Riko or rather, tried to. The glower he got from the brown haired girl was enough to make him instantly sink further away from her.

Riko massaged her temples once. "You better make it up _good_ to him tonight. You might want to be careful around Akashi as well. He told me he was going to have breakfast with Kuroko when he was walking out from the conservatory just now."

_Now_ the blood drained from Kagami's face. If Akashi caught wind of what he did...no, it was not an 'if', it was a 'surely'.

"Shit."

"Well, tell us what you have in mind for tonight. Are you going to have dinner with him? Ah, but Akashi wants everyone in the orchestra to have dinner together so you'd have to surprise Kuroko after the performance," Hyuga said briskly, getting straight down to business and ignoring whatever woes Kagami had. He did hope that the heterochromatic boy -also their conductor- wouldn't outright murder Kagami if he ever did find out. Akashi was known to be a little...too overprotective of Kuroko.

"I was thinking of something after the performance. I've composed a song for him. What time is it by the way?"

"Nine twenty-five," Riko answered.

"Crap. I need to go already."

"Then we'll talk to you during lunch!" she called after him.

* * *

"Kuro-chin, you have some vanilla milkshake on your lips."

"Let me clean it for you."

"Akashi-kun, I can do it by myself."

"I'll clean the other side for you~"

"Murasakibara-kun, I can clean the o-" Kuroko was cut off when two napkins pressed onto either side of his lips and wiped off the vanilla milkshake.

Akashi sat back and placed the napkin back onto the table and smiled at Kuroko. It was followed by a frown as he sipped his coffee.

"Tetsuya, are you all right?"

The blank-faced boy continued to remain devoid of expression. He did not answer Akashi.

"It must be Kagami Taiga," the conductor of Teikou Orchestra continued with the slightest hint of disgust.

Murasakibara, after seeing how unresponsive Kuroko was, decided to cheer him up.

"Kuro-chin." there was some rustling from the purple head's bag. He took out a bag of vanilla sweets and presented it to Kuroko. "Happy birthday."

Kuroko accepted it with the faintest beginnings of a smile as he looked at the bag. There was an assortment of vanilla sweets in the bag, some being milk candy and others being lollipops.

"Thank you, Murasakibara-kun."

Akashi smiled and then took out his own gift. It was a disc that held the songs played by Asari Hayato(2). He was not exactly renowned but Kuroko loved the songs played by him.

"Thank you, Akashi-kun," Kuroko thanked, a note of joy in his tone.

Akashi nodded. He wanted to find out further about what Kagami did to Kuroko this morning that the latter became so down. Something told him that he did not want to be reminded of it though.

"Tetsuya, Atsushi, you do know we are performing last right?" this conversation topic would hopefully draw their attention towards the concert series in the night. All the orchestras were going to perform.

"Yes." Kuroko.

"Mm~ but doesn't Class S usually perform first?"

"The management decided to change the order this time. The orchestra formed by Class A will be performing first and then it follows the same order from Class B to Class F and finally us, last. It's only for this concert series." _I made sure of that,_ was left unsaid but it hung there.

Teikou had seven classes. Class S was the class for the people with the most talent in music and could make use of it. Class A was the second best and Class F the worst. The rest were somewhere in between with varying degrees of skill. Each class formed an orchestra that would play whenever Teikou organized a concert series.

"Will everyone be performing three pieces?" Kuroko asked as he drank his vanilla milkshake. The management was notorious for assigning a set number of pieces to each orchestra.

"Yes. Tetsuya, do you need any help for tonight's performance? Atsushi, you can ask as well."

And thus, they got down to business with a seriousness and concentration that only they could muster. Though that lasted for all of five seconds when Aomine and Kise walked in.

"Kurokocchi!"

* * *

**A/N: **

**(1)- I know that the Japanese school year starts in April but I decided to take a bit of liberty with this. The school year in this fic starts in September and ends after one year. This is made such that it fits with the ideas that I have.**

**(2)- I'm not too sure about using actual, real life, currently alive musicians so I'll just be making up names as I go along. **

**Next up:**

**The orchestra performance and the surprise Kagami has in store for Kuroko!**


	2. Nightfall

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows! It really means a lot to me and I really appreciate it :).**

**Holy crap. This chapter is long. I apologize if some parts seem a bit...off or weird or just plain choppy.**

**Warnings: OOC, unbeta-ed (so a bit of inconsistency where I forgot to check when I was writing it. I check and write at the same time), possible rush, a bit of exposition on several orchestral pieces in a...probably non-interesting way and possible incoherence.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke~ or I would totally make Akashi into a yandere.**

* * *

The last few notes of Camille Saint-Saens' _Danse Macabre_ faded away. Everyone in Teikou Orchestra let out a collective breath of relief. They snapped back to attention once Akashi switched his baton over to his left hand. In bated breaths, everyone awaited Akashi's remarks on the rehearsal.

"Well done." it was said stiffly. He turned to Midorima and a genuine smile came to rest on his lips. "Good job, Shintaro. Keep it up." _or else._

Akashi turned back to the rest and the smile died away. He cleared his throat once to silence any noise (there was barely any to begin with though) and gave his final word.

"We end here. You will all have dinner with each other as the management commands. The cafeteria is already opened and those of you who have yet to bring their formal clothing, go and get it during this break. One more thing, for the upcoming chamber music exam, I don't care who you group up with but it must be with someone from this orchestra. Also, should you not get a _très bien_ for the chamber music exam and the exam for your own instrument, you will be kicked out of the orchestra and be demoted to Class A. You may leave."

Immediately, chatter broke out and the noise of people clearing the stands and chairs scraping across the floor drowned out most of the conversations. Akashi allowed himself a small smile as he watched his fellow schoolmates break up into groups. Naturally, most of them huddled with people from their own department but all the small groups eventually became one big group when they merged together at the exit.

As for Kuroko, he was feeling a bit lost without a certain fiery redhead. He never expressed that though. To his delight, he saw Kagami talking with the others from Seirin in a corner and he made his way towards them. However, his shoulder being tapped stopped him from doing so. Kuroko turned around to face Aomine.

"Tetsu, want to pair up for the chamber music exam?" the tanned boy asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he slouched a little.

"We only have Terwilliger by Avshalomov to play though, unless there are other compositions for the violin and timpani."

"Not to my knowledge. You can play the piano for the exam right?"

Kuroko shot him a look that said 'are you an idiot?'

"No. The school changed the rule on that. We all have to play what we're majoring in now."

Aomine made a face at that. Great. Just great.

"Anyways, I promised Kagami-kun that we would partner each other for the chamber music exam," Kuroko added.

Aomine rolled his eyes then frowned. "Oh yeah, what happened during lunch? You suddenly came over and started eating with Satsuki and me."

"Kagami ran away from me," Kuroko answered flatly.

"He what?!" Aomine immediately took a step towards Kagami, hands balled into fists.

"Aomine-kun, please don't hurt Kagami-kun. The last thing we need is for the two of you to get into a fight." Kuroko wrapped a hand around Aomine's fist and looked at him beguilingly.

"Tch." Aomine snorted but relaxed.

Just then, Imayoshi came. After a brief exchange of greetings, subtle jabs at Kuroko's and Kagami's current 'fallout' (as it seemed to everyone or at least those who had yet to know about Kagami's reason) and the wishing of happy birthday to Kuroko, Imayoshi left with Aomine in tow.

"Try asking Akashi-kun if you can pair up with Momoi-san," Kuroko called after the tanned male. Aomine's response was to blush and stammer incoherently.

The fair-skinned boy let out a soft sigh then hoisted up his violin case and made his way to the cafeteria. He dreaded heading into the cafeteria a little actually. As only his friends from Seirin minus Kagami, Imayoshi, Kise, Aomine, Akashi, Murasakibara and Midorima had wished him happy birthday, the rest were sure to wish him in the cafeteria...and make a big fuss out of it. (Mostly) everyone in the orchestra was quite fond of Kuroko. Then again, the orchestra, despite perceived rivalries, was pretty close as a whole.

Kuroko brightened when he spotted Kagami enter the cafeteria and walked over to him. Oh, how Kuroko hated that his moods were often linked to how Kagami treated him but no matter how hard he tried, it couldn't change.

Rather easily, Kuroko slipped through the throng of people in the cafeteria and managed to reach Kagami. Just as he was about to tap -though his intention was more of to jab- him, someone yanked Kuroko away and into the limelight. Suddenly, popping sounded and streamers rained down on the blue haired boy.

"Happy birthday!" the entire orchestra minus Kagami chorused as one.

"Thank you," Kuroko intoned.

He searched out Kagami in the crowd but could not find him. Though disappointed, he still kept his same flat expression as he was given birthday presents from nearly everyone. From where he stood which was somewhere near the front, Akashi frowned a little but it was only for a fraction of a second. Kagami Taiga had better make that surprise make up for all the confusion and hurt he was causing Tetsuya today, Akashi thought to himself. His lips curved into a slight, sadistic smile at his next thought. Or he would punish him. Everyone within his immediate vicinity immediately put a three metre radius between him and them. Best to keep out of Akashi's way.

Kagami let out a slight growl as he hastily beat the batter. He managed to obtain permission from Akashi to leave during dinner to prepare for his gift to Kuroko. Sure, it involved a bit of grovelling and ego-wounding but he figured it was worth it since Akashi did agree.

He glanced at the clock beside him. It was rather hazardous to place a clock in the kitchen especially when he was in a rush and trying to perfect the cake at the same time but his digital watch just _had_ to spoil. It was six-fifteen, thirty-five more minutes. The concert started at seven and Kagami needed five minutes to change and the other five to brisk walk all the way there. Akashi had told him not to sprint back to the music college on some reason Kagami couldn't care to remember.

Renewed with fresh vigour, Kagami increased his speed but still tried to temper it to refrain from any silly mistakes.

* * *

"You're late."

Kagami froze when he heard the voice of the one person he had been trying his best to avoid for the entire day.

"I was busy," he replied, wincing at his cold tone. It came out sharper than intended.

"Akashi-kun is very angry." that was all the blue haired boy stated before he turned and headed into another room where the others were waiting.

Kagami sighed as he fiddled with his black tie. Riko and Hyuga had asked him why he wanted to avoid Kuroko but when it came to that fair-skinned boy...Kagami just couldn't keep any secrets from him. After managing to finally tie his tie correctly (Kuroko usually did this kind of stuff for him), he left the changing room and entered the waiting room.

The atmosphere in said room was jovial and relaxed. Conversations overlapped with one another. Ties were being thrown about by the rowdier ones only to be retrieved a second later after an ominous glare from Akashi. An idiot, mainly thought to be Hayama but it was hard to tell because of the ruckus created, threw Akashi's beloved conductor baton across the room. A snip was heard and everyone immediately settled down. It did not even take a minute before the noise started up again. Just another one of those times when the members of Teikou Orchestra were bored waiting.

Kagami took a seat in the corner where the people from Seirin were gathered. Miraculously, he managed to grab the magazine showcasing all the orchestras performing before it was tossed to Aomine.

"Oi! Give it 'ere, bastard!" the tanned musician shouted as he stomped over to Kagami.

"Share it," Hyuga ordered.

Aomine shot a glare at Hyuga and opened his mouth to protest.

"Do I need to teach you how to speak to your seniors, brat?" Hyuga sneered, startling Aomine.

"Hyuga, now isn't the time to go into clutch mode!" Izuki chastised as he calmed the man down.

Kagami rolled his eyes and opened up the magazine. Aomine sat beside him and together, the two pored over the details...or tried to. A moment later, Akashi's voice was somehow heard above all the chaos.

"We shall go and watch the performance and come back once Class F has to perform."

Everyone was more than happy to obey. Waiting for more than two hours in that incredibly stuffy room despite the air-conditioning was a complete and total killer to most, if not all, to them.

Trailing behind the group, Kuroko observed Kagami. The crimson-eyed man was arguing with Aomine, most likely over something trivial. Though Kuroko's face was blank as always, Akashi could notice the slight worry the smaller boy now had. The latter lagged behind on purpose and then smiled at the former. It was hardly his wish to put people at ease but Kuroko was a different story.

"Taiga will explain after all this," he declared.

"I don't want Akashi-kun forcing Kagami-kun to explain things to me," the azure-haired boy replied.

"I won't." the tone used could hardly be called a promising tone but Kuroko decided to have a little faith in the sadistic redhead for once.

* * *

"I'm getting the jitters," Kagami admitted to Hyuga.

They were back in the waiting room once again, but this time, they were preparing for their performance.

"All the orchestras were so amazing, even the one formed by Class F!"

That was true. Teikou was known for being highly selective whenever they accepted new students so even the people in Class F were highly talented. Kagami stared at his trumpet, starting to feel a little pressurized. Being part of Class S and the orchestra that represented Teikou for nearly everything, it was expected that he had to perform well and the same went for the others.

"Don't worry. Don't forget that you're not the only one in an orchestra. All of us play a part in it." Hyuga smiled. "We're a team."

"We're not a basketball team," Kagami snorted but then shot an uncharacteristically appreciative smile. "But thanks."

The black haired man nodded and went back to tuning his trumpet. Then, the call for them was heard and they were whisked out onto stage.

"They're performing _Boléro_ by Ravel first right?" Riko asked Momoi. It was really more of a statement than a question though.

Riko sat beside Momoi in the concert hall. The brown haired lady was dressed in a strapless sky blue dress which fell to her knees. It had little yellow stars decorating the hem and it fitted her like a glove. She wore gold heels. Riko wouldn't usually be dressing up like this but it was a formal setting and as such, had to.

As for Momoi, she was wearing a halter top black dress that fell to her knees and black heels. Her long pink hair was left untied.

"Yep! I can't wait to see Tetsu-kun perform~" Momoi sang and Riko smiled wryly.

Personally speaking, Riko herself couldn't wait to see Hyuga perform as well. Not that she would ever admit it. She glanced down at the magazine once more and read the short piece of history the school had provided on Ravel's _Boléro_.

He had composed the one movement orchestral piece for a Russian ballerina, Ida Rubinstein. The piece was Ravel's most famous musical composition. Before _Boléro_, Ravel had composed large scale ballets, suites for the ballet and one-movement dance pieces. _Boléro _was initially called _Fandango_ but its title was soon changed.

Riko shut the magazine.

"Who wrote this thing? It looks like it was just copied off _wikipedia_ and then someone changed the way the sentences was structured a little to make it look like it was written without any form of copying!"

Curious, Momoi took the offending piece of work from Riko's hands and flipped it open. She read the first few lines then closed it as well.

"It can only be Ishikawa Rei," the pink-haired girl sighed.

Riko groaned. Ishikawa Rei, one of the eccentric directors of Teikou. Said lady was in charge of writing the newsletters and such but she did such a terrifyingly bad job of it when she was lazy. Apparently her bad habit struck again. At least she hadn't included the technical aspects of the piece this time though, facts that would bore readers.

"At least the guests won't notice, hopefully," Riko muttered.

She perked up when applause filled the auditorium. She watched Akashi bow and then turn to the orchestra members. He raised his baton and then...magic filled the hall.

It was only the first few notes of the _Boléro _but it was enough to take her breath away. The emotion behind it was awe-inspiring and Riko itched to jump straight back into conducting. Admittedly, _Boléro _was repetitive but each repetition had new instruments being added in, retaining a certain freshness to it. The steady percussive rhythm, something that Aomine pulled off remarkably well, provided a contrast to the vocal melody. It was like a bird frantically trying to escape from its cage, Riko mused to herself.

"Akashi-kun is amazing."

Riko started at the sudden comment from Momoi. The former had been so lost in the music being created that she had completely forgotten about the outside world.

"He is," Riko agreed.

They fell silent once more as they listened to the _Boléro_ in rapt attention. All to soon, the piece ended and Riko and Momoi relaxed. They had no idea they had tensed up while listening, reason escaping them.

"This makes me want to work harder," Momoi admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

Riko murmured her agreement then thought back to an offer she received.

"I think I'll take up the offer of conducting the A Orchestra after all," Riko decided.

* * *

A sigh of relief escaped Kagami's lips. It was perfection throughout.

"Don't calm down just yet. We still have two more pieces," Hyuga warned with a grim look.

"You look pretty relieved if you ask me," Kagami muttered before straightening and preparing for the second piece of the night- _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_ by Dukas.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice was inspired by Goethe's poem of the same name. It talks about an apprentice left alone by his teacher to do the chores. He, tired of fetching water with the pail, uses magic which he has yet to fully master to enchant a broom to do the work for him. It doesn't take long for the floor to become flooded with water and the apprentice starts to panic when he realizes he doesn't know how to stop the broom. The apprentice splits the broom into two with an axe, but each piece becomes a new broom and takes up a pail. It continues fetching water, now at twice the speed. The teacher, thankfully, finally returns and breaks the spell. The poem finishes with the old sorcerer's saying that powerful spirits should only be called on upon by the master himself." Riko chuckled. "I wonder how Akashi will interpret this piece."

Momoi grinned and then the first note of the piece sounded. It continued and the feeling that the duo got was...simply magical. There was an ethereal-like feel to it as the violinists played with the woodwinds. The soft strings of the harp accentuated it. There was a sudden increase in tempo and it became louder then softened again. Slowly, the music approached the climax and tension rose.

Momoi's breath hitched. The music's shrill started to go higher and higher pitched until it reached a point where it seemed as if it could go no higher. Then the bang of the percussion brought it back down and the frenetic pace resumed. They were reaching the end already, Momoi could feel it. There was a pause and then when the music sounded once more, it was much softer, signifying the meek creeping away of the apprentice as he ran back to his chores after his master had broken the spell.

"This is...this is..." words escaped her.

"Amazing," Riko finished.

Applause filled the entire hall and some even looked ready to start a standing ovation. However, they refrained, wanting to hear the final piece before they made any decisions.

Momoi absentmindedly thumbed through the magazine until she came to rest on the page detailing the finale.

"Camille Saint-Saens' _Danse Macabre_," Riko read over her shoulder.

Momoi's lips lifted into a tiny smile. "What a way to end the night."

The harp was played then, with soft chords from the strings and the suddenness hushed the low chatter. One, two, three, four...twelve times, it sounded, the strokes of midnight.

Saint-Saens' _Danse Macabre_ was a musical representation of the late-medieval allegory on the universality of death. That, no matter what one was in life, the _Dance of Death_ united all.

The solo violin was played then with so much passion and emotion that it was unlike Midorima. The music continued with the solo flute and then changed back to the violin.

Momoi listened to the orchestra with closed eyes. With how it was played, the exactness of it, the perfection, feeling and interpretation, it was as if skeletons were rousing and lifting off their coffin covers, coming out to join each other in a dance. Tension grew as it slowly approached the midpoint. And then, once it reached it, the woodwinds played a direct quote from the _Dies Irae_, a Gregorian chant. It climaxed then, the entire orchestra playing with strong dynamics. All of a sudden, it stopped and then an oboe sounded, acting as the cockerel's crow, signifying that daylight has come. The violin was lone and then, finally, it ended softly- the skeletons going back to their resting places.

There was a beat and then another. Suddenly, someone yelled out a 'bravo', breaking the awed silence. Momoi shared a look with Riko and the two of them nodded. Together, they stood and led the standing ovation.

Down on the stage, Akashi bowed to the audience then turned to Midorima who was standing beside him. The conductor and his concertmaster shook hands and the already thunderous applause grew even louder. As Midorima took a careful look at the redhead, he spotted the barest hint of a smile of satisfaction.

* * *

"Tetsu-kuuuuuuun!" Momoi gushed as she flew at Kuroko for a hug.

"Mo-Momoi-san," Kuroko stuttered out as he tried to pull away from the death grip. "I...can't...breathe..."

"Satsuki, let go of Tetsuya," Akashi ordered.

Momoi pouted but obeyed then grinned. "You guys did great!"

Meanwhile, Kagami somehow managed to draw Kuroko away from the members into a corner.

"Don't go to the after party," the Tiger told his partner. "I have something at home for you."

Kagami had a sinking feeling that he had just revealed a little too much about what he had in plan for Kuroko but the small yet brilliant smile was enough to wipe any doubts from his mind. Irregardless of whether Kuroko now had a suspicion or already knew in fact, he still was going to celebrate his birthday with him. _Alone_.

"All right," Kuroko agreed.

"Let's go now," Kagami decided and turned to the others to holler at them, "Kuroko and I are going now! See ya!"

(Un)Surprisingly, the others let them go without so much as a complaint.

"Wait out here, don't come in until I tell you to," Kagami ordered before reaching for his set of keys and fumbling about with it until he managed to grip it properly.

Kuroko watched in hidden amusement. He had never quite seen his friend this nervous before. True, there was the jitters from before the performance but even then, he had seen Hyuga calm him down. Patiently waiting outside the apartment for his call, Kuroko wondered what Kagami had in store for him. The blue-haired boy was no idiot. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out that his partner was hiding something in any case. Still, Kuroko briefly wondered why he was this hurt.

"Kuroko! Come in!"

He entered and then stopped dead. Lit candelabras -an item Kuroko had no idea Kagami held in possession- decorated the interior of the living room. One stood in the middle of the small dining table with a cake in front of it. Five others were strategically placed to make the setting almost...romantic. Never mind, it was not _almost_. It _was_ romantic.

Kagami scratched his head awkwardly at the blank look on Kuroko's face. He detected something in the dark blue pools stirring though. Desperate to stop the silence from becoming too long and awkward, he steered the shadow onto a couch which position had been changed such that Kuroko now sat facing Kagami instead of the television.

"I hope you enjoy this," Kagami muttered.

He took out his trumpet from its casing, tuned it and then placed his mouth on the mouthpiece. He blew lightly on it, index finger pressing down on a note. That was only the intro. What followed after that was enough to make Kuroko's eyes widen just a little and fill him with a sense of admiration. The song that Kagami played, his self-composed song, was light and jovial. Kuroko could feel a bit of influence from _Gavotte_(1) and smiled.

When the song ended, Kuroko clapped.

"That was a very nice song, Kagami-kun. Did you listen to _Gavotte_ while composing it?"

"You could tell?" Kagami asked, a little surprised.

"Of course. I'm not your partner for nothing. I know you tend to listen to songs that give you the feel you're searching for whenever you compose," Kuroko answered.

Kagami cleared his throat and then grinned. "Well, now that that's done, let's celebrate. I baked you an apple pear upside-down cake with vanilla infused butter. It's a bit small because I didn't have time to bake a really big one." Kagami didn't add that he also did it small because of how little Kuroko ate.

Kuroko brightened immediately and followed the taller male to the table. The former, when he saw the cake, realized that Kagami wasn't kidding. It was about the size of four average-sized cupcakes put together. Two large candles were stuck hastily to the top of it and one was slowly tilting to the side. Kagami hurriedly righted it then took the lighter and lit up the candle.

"It's your...twentieth birthday right?" he asked.

"It is."

Kagami found it a little weird then, that Kuroko, being twenty which made him a second year at Teikou, said that it was his first year here. Maybe he transferred or something, he thought to himself. As for him, he had migrated from America.

After singing the birthday song and taking a few photos as memory, the cake was cut into half and shared between the duo. They sat opposite each other, eating quietly. The quietness was not an awkward one but instead, a comfortable one. The lull was only broken by the chewing sounds coming from Kagami.

As Kagami peeked at Kuroko through his lashes, he wondered how he had gotten to be so...at ease with his partner. Even to the point he was now calling their shared apartment his 'home'. Still, Kagami was really glad that Himuro had gotten him to come to Japan.

After all, if he had not, he would never have met a boy he was so certain he had fallen for even if it was a bit too soon to say.

* * *

**I suppose a warning should be in order soon that this will contain BL but only shonen-ai and it should be pretty obvious who the first couple should be riiiight? 8D. Anyways, before I spoil more of my own story, please do leave a review! Or a favourite or a follow.**

**I also suppose I should get a cover for this. Hm.**

**Next up:**

**It's February and it's...Valentine's Day! Which characters shall be focused upon now?**


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